UK FINALS
2016
image courtesy of NASA
Kindly supported by
Dangoor
Education
UK FINALS 2016
PARTICIPATING TEAMS
Dougledyne Fletchtel
CEO Nich Fletcher and Co-CEO Louis Lyle
Alberg Science Club
Pate’s Grammar School, Cheltenham
Scarborough schools - Scalby School,
Scarborough College, Scarborough Sixth
Form College
Westminster School
Vereinigten Flugfahrten
CEO Alison Ahearn and Co-CEO Trisha
Saxena
Project HaDeS
St Paul’s School, London
The European School of Mol, Antwerp
The Henrietta Barnett School
The High School of Glasgow
Grumbo Aerospace
CEO Rodney Taylor and Co-CEO Jamie
Coombes
Vulture Aviation
CEO Jian Heseri and Co-CEO Kevin
Carreira
Chipping Norton School
Bede’s Senior School
Craigmount High School
Cardiff Sixth Form College
Heanor Gate Science College
James Krajicek, Stuttgart
Kingham Hill School
Mark Konieczny, London
Lady Manners School
Omega Space Club
Trinity School, Croydon
Queen Elizabeth’s Hospital School, Bristol
United World College of South East Asia,
Singapore
Rockdonnell
CEO Jessica Wade and Co-CEO Priya
Pereira
Bishop’s Stortford College
Haberdashers’ Aske’s School for Girls
St Mary Redcliffe and Temple School
St Lawrence College, Athens
Sutton Grammar School
SPACE SETTLEMENT DESIGN COMPETITIONS
Space Settlement Design Competitions are industry simulation games for secondary school students, set
in the future.
The Competitions emulate, as closely as possible, the experience of working as a member of an
aerospace industry proposal team, referred to as companies.
To help them accomplish this challenging task, each team is provided with managers from industry to
serve as Company CEO, and they receive technical and management training to prepare them for the
Competition. They must design an overall structure, define sources of construction materials, specify
vehicles used for transportation, determine sources of electrical power and water, design computer and
robotics systems, specify allocation of interior space, show examples of pleasant community design, and
provide estimated costs and schedules for completion of the project. The Competition concludes with the
presentations of briefings describing the designs to a panel of judges.
The experience of participating in a Space Settlement Design Competition teaches young people
optimism for the future, technical competence, management skills, knowledge of space environments and
resources, appreciation for relationships between technical products and human use, teamwork, and
techniques for preparing effective documentation. It requires that students integrate their knowledge of,
and utilise skills in, space science, physics, maths, chemistry, environmental science, biology, computer
science, writing, speaking, art, and common sense.
Twelve students from the winning company of the UK Finals event in March will proceed to the International
Final at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA, in August.
The UK Space Design Competition is sponsored by the Space Science & Engineering Foundation,
Dangoor Education, the UK Space Agency, the Royal Academy of Engineering and Imperial College
London. We are also grateful for the support of the University of Huddersfield, the University of Oxford,
Westminster Academy, Cardiff Sixth Form College, Derby Grammar School and the City of London
Academy, Southwark in running the regional semi-finals of the competition.
FRIENDS AND SUPPORTERS
Dangoor Education - David Dangoor
Dangoor Education provides opportunities across the learning spectrum with sponsorship of Westminster
Academy, Open University Massive Open Online Courses, STEM university scholarships, the Dangoor
Centre for Medical Education at the Royal Society of Medicine and the Dangoor Centre for Personalised
Medicine at Bar Ilan University. Dangoor Education’s sponsorship of the UK Space Design Competition
builds on the fantastic legacy of Sir Naim Dangoor, who supported the Competition for a number of years.
UK Space Agency
The UK Space Agency has supported the UK Space Design Competition for a number of years and we
are thrilled that the UK government continues to see the value of the Competition.
Royal Academy of Engineering
The Royal Academy of Engineering are supporting the 2015-16 season of the UK Space Design
Competition. This is the second time the Academy has provided support to help ensure the Competition
reaches as many young people as possible across the UK.
Space Science & Engineering Foundation
The UK Space Design Competition is the Foundation’s focus for 2015-16 and continues to work with
academics, scientists and space specialists to ensure the Competition remains topical as well as exciting
and engaging. The Foundation is a registered UK charity, number 1142329.
Christian Sweeting
Christian Sweeting is the Chairman of Palace Investments and is engaged in a number of charitable
endeavours, including serving as a trustee of the Shalom Centre for peace and reconciliation. He is also a
trustee of the Vatican City State Endowment dedicated to the restoration and preservation of the Vatican,
its grounds and the art treasures of the Vatican museums. Christian is delighted to continue his support of
the UKSDC and believes that the competition is an extraordinarily valuable experience for everyone taking
part, providing a tremendous opportunity, stimulus and experience which are essential in the formation of
outstanding young people.
Office of the President
19 March 2076
GREETINGS AND SALUTATIONS!
This is the year 2076.
You have been called to this meeting because your company is considering bidding on a contract
to design and construct an ambitious project in solar orbit. The agency that will award the contract
is the FOUNDATION SOCIETY, an organisation founded for the specific purpose of establishing
settlements of its members in space.
YOUR TASK this weekend is to design facilities for a SPACE SETTLEMENT employing fusion
propulsion to deliver passengers and high-value cargo between Earth and Mars in only 80 days.
Your team must agree on a design that satisfies a set of requirements specified in the Request for
Proposal (RFP) defined by the Foundation Society. You will prepare a 35 MINUTE presentation
describing your proposed design, which will be presented by one or more of your team members.
The presentation must include dimensioned drawings of your design, and define areas designated
for specific activities. You will be expected to justify facility sizes and locations, explain how the
structure will be built and populated, estimate cost and schedule for construction, and show
systems that will enable the residents to live and work in their new community. At the conclusion of
your presentation, members of the Foundation Society will have the opportunity to ask questions
about your design for 10 minutes. They will then evaluate your design versus those of the
companies competing against you, and choose a winner.
Successful development of your proposal will require coordination of design details with engineers
from four major disciplines in your company. Your company’s management has the responsibility
to ensure that communication is both effective and timely, in order to assure that all of the RFP
requirements are met, and that all parts of your design are compatible.
This is much to accomplish in a short time, so GOOD LUCK!
Edwards Smith
President
STANDARDS OF PROFESSIONAL CONDUCT
The venue hosts have graciously allowed us to use their facilities. In return, the Competition
organisers have established some guidelines that we must follow while we are here:
1. Any behaviour not normally permitted in a work place (e.g. smoking, consumption of alcohol, or
use of other controlled substances) is not permitted in any of the buildings or facilities we occupy for
the Competition.
2. Leaving designated Competition sites during the Competition is not permitted, except in the
presence of a Competition organiser or team supervisor.
Please understand that your family
considers the Competition to be responsible for your safety and well-being during the event; you
expose the Competition to unacceptable risk if you leave designated areas.
3. The venue operates seven days a week.
Competition participants or open to the public.
Please do not venture out of areas designated for
4. You may encounter equipment operating unattended. Do not touch any equipment that has not
been allocated to the Competition. If you are not sure if a piece of equipment is intended for use by
the Competition, please ask a Competition organiser.
Competition organisers and/or team supervisors will be available at all times throughout the venue.
If a circumstance arises that is not explicitly covered by these guidelines, please ask a Competition
organiser, and/or use common sense in your choice of actions.
Remember, you are a professional now. Your co-operation in following these guidelines is greatly
appreciated. Your responsible behaviour will enable use of these facilities for future Competitions.
RULES OF THE GAME
The Competition may be conducted ONLY with the information and tools available onsite, whether
provided by Competition organisers or brought by the participants.
No off-site assistance is
permitted after participants arrive.
You are working for a Company. Companies do all sorts of things besides creating products, and so
can yours. Remember, however, that only a few people can make binding commitments for the
company - and if you make a promise or commitment on behalf of your company without your CEO
knowing about it, you may be fired. This applies especially to personnel decisions.
You can have food and drink in your company headquarters, but you must maintain a clean and
professional working environment (wrappers, uneaten food and rubbish must go in the bin).
Your Product
Your Company must hand in a USB memory stick with your final presentation to the event organisers
by the deadline listed in the timetable.
Presentations not meeting the deadline WILL BE
PENALISED, and the later the submission, the more severe the penalty.
YOUR COMPANY’S PROPOSAL PRESENTATION MUST MEET THESE REQUIREMENTS:
The first page must have your company name on it.
It must be in PowerPoint (Microsoft), Keynote (Apple), or PDF format.
No more that 50 slides may be submitted, any additional slides or hand-outs will be disregarded.
Models, artwork, and transparency slides are permitted, but images/scan must be included in your
presentation.
• Last for no more than the allocated time given to you at the morning briefing.
• All slides, and graphics must be readable. Illegible text and faint line drawings may be disregarded.
•
•
•
•
You do not need to present every slide. Any additional slides (within the 50 slide limit) can be used
to answer judges’ questions or to provide supplementary data for the judges’ consideration (at their
discretion).
Event organisers print paper copies for the judges before the presentations starts. Your originals will
remain the property of the Competition organisers, who reserve the right to reproduce or publish the
images thereon.
Failure to follow any of the above rules may result in your company being penalised or disqualified
from the Competition. If you have any questions or issues, please ask a Competition organiser.
HISTORY
Your presence here is part of a long history of Space Settlement Design Competitions.
It all started in 1983, when plans were being made by the Boy Scouts of America for the 1984
National Exploring Conference. The steering group for the Science and Engineering Cluster decided
it would be great to do something neat about space. Evelyn Murray from the Society of Women
Engineers (SWE) contacted Anita Gale, who worked on the Space Shuttle program, and along with
Rob Kolstad (a member of the steering group) they outlined the basic structure of the event, that it
would be both a design competition and a management simulation game. Anita and Dick Edwards
wrote the materials for the game, and the first Space Settlement Design Competition was conducted
at Ohio State University (between thunderstorms and tornadoes) in August 1984, with about 75
participants. It was wildly successful. Even astronaut Story Musgrave stopped by to watch design
presentations.
The Explorers' Science and Engineering Cluster was so impressed by this event, they decided to
make sure it would continue in some form. Eventually, the Boy Scouts Space Exploration Post at
NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, California, agreed to try it out on a local level.
The first SPACESET was held in 1986. Eighteen SPACESET competitions were conducted at the
JPL, with as many as 160 students participating each year.
The first annual National Competition was organised when SpaceWeek organisers thought it would
be appropriate to include a Space Settlement Design Competition in commemorating the 25th
anniversary of the first lunar landing, in July 1994. The first National event took place in Washington,
D.C. Astronauts and cosmonauts who attended were so impressed with its educational value that
they insisted that it continue as an annual event. Although it soon became evident that SpaceWeek
International was unable to sponsor subsequent National Competitions, the promise made by Anita
and Dick was accomplished in 1995 at Epcot in Walt Disney World, and the Third Annual Finalist
Competition moved to Kennedy Space Center in 1996, where it continued until moving to the
Johnson Space Center in 2006.
The idea of a UK Semi-Final was first suggested by Dr Randall Perry of Imperial College, London
whilst on a Grand Canyon raft trip with Anita and Dick where he heard their descriptions of the
Competitions.
Dr Perry set up the Space Science & Engineering Foundation to run the competition from Imperial
College London. The UK’s first entry to the International Competition was a team from Riddlesdown
Collegiate in 2009. The next year, the UK competition expanded to involve 160 pupils from 12
schools. The winning company, composed of students from Wallington County Grammar School,
Pate's Grammar School, and City of London Academy, Southwark, sent a team of 13 students to
represent the UK in the International Competition. They came back from Houston as winners!
The UK competition has grown from strength to strength. The first regional competition was held in
Cardiff in 2013 and the 2015-16 programme comprised of seven regional heats and four microcompetitions.
Future Mostly Real Life Speculation
Like
Industry
REALITY VS THE COMPETITION
A statement you may hear several times during your Space Settlement Design Competition
experience is “Now you know what it’s like in industry!” This is, after all, an industry simulation game.
You will have too much data in some areas, too little in others, not enough time to search out what
data are available, personnel conflicts in your organization, technical conflicts between departments,
difficulty in describing your entire design during the time allowed, and questions from the judges that
you consider unfair (or “I forgots” revealed). All of these are challenges faced by real engineers in real
companies (and have been faced by many of the volunteers you will meet). Of course, a lot of the
Space Settlement Design Competition is pure fabrication: it describes, as history, things that haven’t
happened yet. So, what is real, and what is Design Competition speculation?
The basic products, vehicles, and structures described for the Space Settlement Design Competition
are technically possible, within the timeframes indicated. They do, however, represent ambitious
technical, economic, and political commitments. Some will never happen, some will. Some are
projects that Competition participants who become engineers will work on during their careers.
The Design Competition companies, including their product lines and histories, are based on
composites of real corporations, projected into the future. No Competition company, however, is
based solely on a single real company. Company names do not indicate any similarity to real
corporations. The recommended Design Competition organization chart is a true reflection of part of a
generic organization structure used by many companies.
There is no such organization as the Foundation Society (too bad!). The described efforts by the
Foundation Society to foster commercial space infrastructure development could, however, be
accomplished by other existing organizations.
The Request for Proposal and proposal process reflect, as closely as possible, the system by which
real corporations propose and win contracts for new business.
Information about space, lunar, and planetary environments and resources is based on numerous
references. Articles and other materials provided for background information are genuine technical
documents that have appeared in print, or were specifically prepared for the Design Competition but
are based on serious research. Sources are clearly marked where possible, and are genuine.
“Department Descriptions” represent a summary of the types of tasks, analyses, and factors that
similar real groups address.
The insidiousness, abrasiveness, and just plain nastiness associated with extraterrestrial dust are real.
It is incredibly fine, gets into everything, defies all attempts to completely remove it from anything that
has been outdoors, and will ultimately destroy any mechanical equipment it gets into. Any long term
space habitations that come in contact with raw materials must take every grain of tracked-in dust
seriously; gradual accumulation over time will result in serious problems.
Descriptions of specific future commercial products manufactured in space, space-based businesses,
and health benefits of life in space are pure speculation. Global economic benefits from expanding
human activities in space are wishful thinking, although the described triggering events for large-scale
infrastructure development in cis-lunar space are plausible. “Silicon buckystructures” manufactured in
the space environment and their amazing material properties were invented for the Competition.
Using Martian attributes to make transparent aluminum is also fiction.
If during this experience you have any questions about NASA or the aerospace industry, feel free to ask your
company’s CEO or another adult volunteer —many of whom do the same things in real life that you have the
opportunity to do here.
Projects as huge as the space settlement being designed for this competition are excellent
examples of how large companies came to be.
For most of human existence, the things that people used could be produced by individual
people, or by small groups of people. Technology was simple enough that if a product was
required in a place, somebody could be found nearby to replicate it. Exceptions were large
public works projects: government buildings, aqueducts, roads, city walls, bridges,
cathedrals, and temples. Construction of these structures was controlled through
government or church bureaucracies.
Advances in technology changed all of this. Machines were developed that could do work
better and more quickly than muscle. Complex machines could not be replicated easily, so
demand for products meant that the suppliers were encouraged to grow to meet the needs
of their customers. Giant corporations evolved that could complete huge projects. When
companies did not have what they required to do a task, they subcontracted and combined
resources with other companies.
As organisations grew, they had to adopt new ways of doing business, adopting replicated
military patterns that had been used for millennia to coordinate the efforts of huge numbers
of people. This worked reasonably well in early corporations, where the intelligence resided
at the top, and the other workers could do their jobs adequately just by following orders.
In only the past few decades, the nature of the products produced by large corporations has
been changing, and their organisations have been evolving to adapt. To stay in business,
corporations must now rely on the intelligence of employees at all levels, not just at the top.
Employees determine the very nature of the products that can be offered by the corporation.
The whole science of management is changing to accommodate this new type of employee.
It includes recognition that communication is the lifeblood of the organisation, each individual
employee has unique skills to offer, employees at all levels are more productive if they enjoy
their work, and employees enjoy their work best when they feel it is important.
Money
Communication is the greatest challenge faced by top management. The sheer size of some
organisations illustrates the problem - 20,000 workers at one plant is not uncommon. Some
firms have dozens of divisions world-wide, and employ hundreds of thousands of people.
Effective operation requires, however, that people working on different parts of a project
share information. Sometimes a problem on one project can be solved by a person on
another project.
Professional people are expensive. To support one engineer, a company typically pays up to
$200,000 each year for the salary, supplies, utilities, and other overheads including the
secretaries, janitors, guards at the gates, fire department, first aid station, and computers.
Your
Turn
Management
Evolution
Transition
To Begin
HOW COMPANIES WORK
This all seems very intimidating when you have just accepted a first job in a huge
corporation. Your first assignments will be relatively straightforward tasks you were hired to
do. If you get stuck, you will find lots of other people in your group, including your manager,
who will help you. After a few years, you will establish your niche in the organisation, and in
a few more years you could become an expert in your field. You will become more valuable
as you know and are known by more people with other special knowledge.
COMPANY ORGANIZATION CHART
CHIEF EXECUTIVE
OFFICER
Competition-provided
Volunteer Manager
PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
ENGINEERING
VICE PRESIDENT
MARKETING/SALES
DEPARTMENT
RESPONSIBILITIES
DIRECTOR
STRUCTURAL
ENGINEERING
DESIGN OVERALL
CONFIGURATION,
AND SPECIFY
CONSTRUCTION
METHODS AND
COSTS
VICE PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
MANUFACTURING
FINANCE
HUMAN RESOURCES
FUNCTIONS
NOT
DIRECTOR
OPERATIONS
ENGINEERING
DESIGN FACILITIES,
UTILITIES, AND
INFRASTRUCTURE
REQUIRED FOR SAFE
AND EFFICIENT
SYSTEM OPERATIONS
UTILIZED
FOR
SPACE
SETTLEMENT
DIRECTOR
HUMAN
ENGINEERING
DESIGN HUMAN LIVING
AND WORKING
ENVIRONMENTS, AND
TOOLS/FACILITIES
WITH WHICH HUMAN
OCCUPANTS WILL
INTERACT
DESIGN
COMPETITION
DIRECTOR
AUTOMATION
ENGINEERING
DESIGN COMPUTING
AND ROBOTICS
SUPPORT REQUIRED
FOR CONSTRUCTION,
OPERATIONS, AND
SERVICES TO
OCCUPANTS/USERS
HOW TO PLAY THE GAME
Space Settlement Design Competitions are industry simulation games that both show and require
use of corporate communication techniques to get the job done. Your disadvantage is that you have
an inexperienced staff lacking in technology and management skills - but so do all of your
competitors.
In order for your company to create an effective design, the people in all four of your engineering
disciplines must communicate with each other. Every department influences the work of all the
others. You must be cautious, however: if you carry communication to the limit, with everybody
working on the same part of the challenge all at once, you will be wasting time. You need to find a
balance between doing the most things at once by having different people doing them, and having
people working together to make sure the whole project fits together.
Your CEO is a manager where he or she works, and does this all the time and your co-CEO is an
alumnus of past competitions. Your President, Vice Presidents, and Department Directors will have to
learn this quickly. Everybody in your company needs to focus on the common goal: to provide a
unique design that meets the customer's requirements and is effectively communicated to the judges.
You win the same way any company wins a proposal bid:
• Create a design that meets the customer's requirements
• Show in your presentation that your design meets the requirements
The Customer’s requirements are described in the Request for Proposal (RFP):
• The RFP describes EXACTLY what the customer desires
• The winning design should address every issue or point included in the RFP
• There is plenty of latitude for innovation: show HOW your design meets the RFP
Think about the presentation as soon as you start the design process. Your Vice President of
Marketing and Sales makes sure designs are portrayed in the most effective manner. Share the
vision; get the judges excited about living in your design. The best design in the world is worthless if
you don't communicate it.
Remember that the judges will look for weaknesses in your design, so be sure you can explain why
the design is the way it is. “On the spot” engineering when being questioned usually only makes
things worse.
Although innovation is encouraged, feasibility is essential. Base your design on the level of existing
technology defined by the Competition organisers, laws of Physics, and common sense. Justify any
technologies assumed in your design which exceed those described in the Competition materials.
We hope you enjoy the experience and learn a lot too, because we know that somewhere, right now whether it be late at night or the middle of the weekend - there are people in industry doing exactly
the same thing, but for real money in real jobs. You may join them someday, and this is a great
opportunity to learn how the game is played.
SPACE CHARACTERISTICS AND RESOURCES
Space is not a friendly place. Mostly, it is nothing: vacuum, and apparent lack of gravity.
What little there is in space is mostly hazardous, even the things that are assets.
Resources / Assets in Near-Earth Space
Hazards to Humans and / or Structures in NearEarth Space
Solar energy near Earth
can be converted to electrical power by solar cells
(1380 watts / m2 available for conversion)
Solar Energy reduction with Distance
energy decreases as square of distance from Sun
(595 watts / m2 available at Mars distance)
Solar Wind
provides opportunity for efficient propulsion, stationkeeping, and attitude control
Solar Radiation
long-term exposure is deadly; solar flares are deadly in minutes
Cosmic Radiation
scientific study reveals clues about the universe
Cosmic Radiation
deadly to unprotected humans
Lack of Atmosphere
enables optimum viewing of distant objects for
astronomy studies
Vacuum
survival requires life support systems; tiny amounts of
atomic oxygen damage exposed materials
Lack of Gravity
enables manufacturing techniques and products not
possible on Earth
Lack of Gravity
long stays in “zero-g” cause bone loss and muscular
deterioration
Orbital Mechanics*
enables satellites to stay at high altitudes “forever”
Orbital Mechanics*
orbital path changes require a lot of fuel
Asteroids
present opportunities for mining—can contain nickel,
iron, water, carbon, carbon compounds
Asteroids
small rocks can puncture spacecraft cabins; large
body impact with Earth could be devastating
Comets
present opportunities for harvesting water ice
Comets
leave debris in space that can cause hazards
Lunar & Asteroid Materials
opportunities for mining oxygen, silicon, iron,
aluminum, calcium, magnesium, titanium
Lunar & Asteroid Dust
gets into and damages machinery, making long-term
operations on the Moon difficult
* The primary law of space is Orbital Mechanics, which determines where things can stay
and where they can go. Everything in space is moving, attracted by gravitational fields
(usually interacting) of every major object in the vicinity. Which orbit an object is in
depends on its position and velocity at any particular time. Orbits are changed with
acceleration due to thrust, usually from rockets. Satellites are constrained to be far
enough above most of any atmosphere that an orbit can be sustained for a few days
before decaying through friction with the atmosphere (about 100 miles above Earth’s
surface; a 150-mile Earth orbit can be maintained for about five years, a 250-mile orbit for
about ten, with variations depending on solar activity and other factors that can cause the
atmosphere to expand or contract). Objects with bigger cross-sections experience faster
orbital decay. High velocities put objects in higher orbits; an object achieving “escape
velocity” (25,000 mph for Earth) will leave the influence of its “host”, and go into orbit
around something else. Orbits are also not perfectly stable. Satellites use small rockets
for “station-keeping” to stay where desired. Some quirks of orbital mechanics cause
gravitational forces of large bodies to be in balance at some locations, creating “Libration
Points” that are either very stable (L4 and L5) or are unstable in one plane (L1, L2, and
L3), and require substantial station-keeping to maintain spacecraft in position.
Space Infrastructure Development History
2025
2035
2045
2055
Launch Vehicles:
ELV's
Capsules to orbit
RLV (new versions)
Condor (new versions)
Grumbo Jumbo (new versions)
European Spaceplanes
2075
current
On-Orbit Infrastructure: expansion 2nd 3rd
Space Station / Spaceports
Space Tugs and OTV's
Solar Power Satellites
Scheduled Intra-Orbit Service
Scheduled Lunar Shuttles
Near-Earth Asteroid / Comet Mining
Space Manufacturing
Orbital Hotels / Resorts
Crewed lunar landings
Lunar mining operations
Asteroid Belt Prospecting
Asteroid Belt Mining
Crewed Mars Landings/bases
Mars Cycler Operations
Space Settlements:
Alexandriat (Earth-Moon L5)
Bellevistat (Earth-Moon L4)
Alaskol (lunar north pole)
Columbiat (Earth-Moon L5)
Balderol (lunar far side equator)
Aresam (Phobos)
Argonom
Others, not Foundation Society
2065
expansion
expansion
LEGEND
completed on-orbit construction
completed milestone
partial capability
period of use
planned construction
planned milestone
planned partial capability
planned period of use
EXISTING SPACE INFRASTRUCTURE
Earth orbit in 2076 is a very busy place, with thousands of satellites serving the seemingly insatiable
human appetite for communication, navigation, observation, manufacturing, and energy. Cis-lunar
space is becoming the domain of commercial enterprise. Launch costs from Earth are as low as $700
per pound, and scheduled transportation services run between various locations in Earth orbit.
The commercial space economic boom started with suggestions in the early 20-teens that there was
a business case for repairing, refurbishing, and upgrading satellites on orbit—launching just the
lightweight parts needing replacement, and installing them on heavy satellite structures with lifetimes
limited only by what can be installed on them in the future. In the late 20-teens, several major
aerospace companies formed the Space Enterprise Applications Consortium (SEAC), which pooled
corporate resources to develop space infrastructure, and all SEAC companies agreed to buy each
others’ services in space. The companies turned to the Foundation Society to lead the project.
Government partners in the International Space Station (ISS) turned over ISS ownership and
operations to SEAC, which renamed it Space Station Freedom. In exchange, SEAC agreed to
develop capability to capture space debris, some of which it uses for parts and materials for building
new spacecraft and refurbishing old ones. SEAC partners adapted existing ISS component designs
to quickly produce space tugs, depots, transfer vehicles, and lunar landing craft.
Commercial cis-lunar infrastructure development was rewarded when a simple separation process for
rare Earth metals (used in manufacture of electronics) made asteroid mining profitable. The
Foundation Society built a habitat for refining lunar and asteroid materials, on-orbit manufacturing,
and assembly; declared it the first permanent human settlement in space; and name it Alexandriat.
SEAC added LEO spaceports Liberty and Independence, which serve as transfer ports for exports,
imports, and passengers between Earth and space. Increased demand justified developing more
cost-effective launch vehicles; passengers fly to one of the three LEP spaceports for $250,000 per
person, with a 250 lb. weight allowance for person and possessions. Commercial operation of space
services enable governments to invest in science and exploration beyond cis-lunar space.
Alexandriat and SEAC changed humans’ relationship to space. The most profitable space products
are nanobots, microscopic robots that perform tasks at the molecular level. Although envisioned for
decades, they were impractical until an Alexandriat lab grew them.
They originally modified
molecules to form an airtight seal on the settlement’s interior surfaces; with experience, more uses
were developed, including fusing coatings on surfaces and separating the elements mixed in metallic
asteroids.
Nanobots are a major export category, spurring increased production of space
manufacturing facilities and vehicles to get them to dirtside customers. Most satellites and products
used in space are now made in space of lunar and asteroid materials.
Habitations on Mars have more convenient access to resources than on Earth’s Moon. Early
areological and geological processes were similar enough to cause ore concentrations on Mars much
like those on Earth—except that they have not been mined for millennia. Volcanism on Mars caused
ores in some areas to separate out into veins. Carbon is abundantly available from the atmosphere
and nitrate deposits have been found where ancient water-borne bacteria were exposed to higher
nitrogen concentrations in a primitive Martian atmosphere.
Large Mars Cycle settlements provide transportation from Earth to Mars orbit for $1,500 per pound.
Spacecraft based at the Foundation Society Aresam settlement rendezvous with the cyclers to load
and offload cargo and personnel. Landing vehicles based at Aresam charge $50 per pound for
transportation of personnel and cargo to the Martian surface, and $300 for the return trip. Small ships
with fusion propulsion systems charge $4,000 per pound for 80-day transits between Earth and Mars;
although the shorter travel times have developed dirtside interest in tourism to Mars, few slots are
available for this purpose.
THE CUSTOMER
The FOUNDATION SOCIETY is an organization founded for the specific purpose of
establishing settlements of its members in space.
The Foundation Society first gained recognition for is successful lobbying efforts with the
governments of spacefaring nations to establish homesteading rights in space: a corporation or a
person can claim an orbital location, an asteroid smaller than 10 miles in diameter, or a plot of land up
to 10 miles by 10 miles in size, if it does not interfere with other active claims. A claim remains valid
so long as the claiming entity actively uses its claimed property; claims not in active use for four Earth
years revert to unclaimed status and are available for another entity to claim.
Foundation Society executives saw the request to lead the SEAC consortium as a major step toward
developing large settlements in space, and agreed to sponsor a modest space manufacturing facility
orbiting just below the Van Allen radiation belts. The Society’s engineers created a modular design for
a small community that grew with expanding business opportunities. Speedy construction enabled
the Foundation Society to soon see a return on its substantial investment.
The Foundation Society encouraged the crew at this orbital facility to tinker and experiment with
materials in zero-g and vacuum. The crew represented the largest pool of unscheduled hours ever
experienced in space; their creativity quickly produced a form of lunar silicon resembling the structure
of carbon nanotubes; dubbed “buckystructures”, the material is extraordinarily strong in tension,
tolerates the space environment, and can be formed into flexible strands and cables of unlimited
length, or vast nets and sheets of fabric. Continuing research produces new applications; colours
range from milk white to quartz-like transparency, properties of different forms and with various
introduced impurities include thermal insulting qualities, electrical conductivity, sound transmission,
adhesion, or light refraction. One variant is a bright white fabric that prevents penetration by space
debris up to two inches in diameter (but offers no thermal insulation).
With new revenues, the Foundation Society expanded investment in the facility and supporting
infrastructure, pushing it to become the first true space settlement. That goal was achieved in 2031
with 1,000 residents living in a structure rotating to provide 0.5g, and was commemorated by naming
the facility “Alexandriat”, acknowledging Alexander the Great expanding his empire into previously
unknown territories. The Foundation Society is preserving Alexandriat’s core value as a research
facility. The Society also established the University of Space Science and Technology at Alexandriat,
to service the research and higher education needs of the growing spacer population.
Evolution of space manufacturing to large structures and spacecraft fabrication caused the
Foundation Society to build Bellevistat, a large-scale materials refining and manufacturing center.
The settlement’s facilities operated at capacity since opening, and manufacturing capability was
expanded to build new inter-orbit space vehicles. Arial, in lunar orbit, serves as a port for transfer to
and from the lunar surface. Alaskol mines, refines, ships, and manufactures with lunar resources.
Capitalising on the abundance of yttrium on the moon and employing the unique environment in
processes, a lab at Balderol, on the lunar far side, created perovskite materials that are
superconducting at all temperatures, a major export. Aresam is a port of entry for all of the commerce
that activities on Mars may produce. The first profitable material to be manufactured on Mars was
transparent aluminum, which enables making spacecraft windows by friction-stir welding them directly
to traditional aluminum; research continues to find other materials opportunities. Benevectoras is in
an Aldrin Cycler orbit, providing transportation between cis-lunar space and Mars.
[Note: in the Foundation Society’s system for naming its communities, a suffix indicates location, and
communities with the same suffix receive names in alphabetical order. Suffixes currently or soon to
be in use are “at” = (in orbit) around Terra, “al” = (in orbit) around Luna, “ol” = on Luna, “am” = around
Mars, “om” = on Mars, and “as” = around the sun Sol.]
PRELIMINARY
REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
19 March 2076
“Cassandras” Space Settlement Contract
INTRODUCTION
This is a request by the Foundation Society for contractors to propose the design, development,
construction, and operations planning of the first fusion-propelled space settlement, which will serve
as a “space cruise liner” enabling 80-day transits between Earth and Mars.
STATEMENT OF WORK
1. Basic Requirements - the contractor will describe the design, development, and construction of
the Cassandras space settlement community, and develop plans for operations required to
maintain the community. 2. Structural Design - Cassandras must provide a safe and pleasant living and working
environment for 2,500 full-time residents plus an additional temporary population of up to 5,000 in
transit between Earth and Mars or a smaller population returning to Earth. The design must
specify uses of interior space, with areas designated to show residential, agricultural, industrial,
commercial, docking facilities, and other uses. 3. Operations and Infrastructure - The Cassandras design will show elements of basic
infrastructure required for the activities of the settlement’s permanent and temporary residents,
including food production, electrical power generation, internal and external communication
systems, internal transportation systems, atmosphere/climate control, household and industrial
solid waste management, water management, and day/night cycle provisions. 4. Human Factors - Cassandras will provide facilities for services that residents expect in a
comfortable modern community environment, variety of consumer goods and other supplies, and
public areas designed with open space and long lines of sight. Include designs of typical homes
for permanent and temporary residents, clearly showing room sizes. Specify numbers and types
of spacesuit design required for work outside of pressurized volumes. 5. Automation Design and Services - Specify number and types of computing and information
processing devices, multi-function personal electronic tools, servers, network devices, and robots
required for Cassandras’ facility, community, and business operations. Show robot designs,
clearly indicating their dimensions. Specify automation systems for maintenance, repair and
safety functions, including backup systems and contingency plans for failures.
Specify
automations systems to enhance livability in the community, productivity in work environments,
and convenience in residences. 6. Schedule and Cost - The proposal will include a schedule for development and occupation of
Cassandras, and costs for design through construction phases of the schedule.
7. Business Development - Cassandras’ commercial and industrial ventures will focus on one
business pursuit: serving as a transportation system for passengers and high-value cargo en
route between Earth and Mars.
VEREINIGTEN FLUGFAHRTEN GmbH
Providers of:
- Satellites and upper stages
- Orbital refining, manufacturing, and research using lunar materials
- Launch vehicles and orbital transfer services
- Automated manufacturing of solar shield components
Vereinigten Flugfahrten is a major builder of commercial aircraft, and the European Union’s most
prominent manufacturer of spacecraft. The company entered the spacecraft market in the 1970’s, to
satisfy the German government’s requirement for military satellites without having to employ a foreign
source for space technology.
In 2015, the European Union opted to fund production of a vehicle derived from Vereinigten
Flugfahrten’s Sanger Spaceplane design. Design development was slow, until the Alexandriat project
increased demand for launch services. Sanger’s small payload capacity limited its commercial value;
most of its flights were quick missions to get critical components to the spaceports in a hurry for
Alexandriat construction. In 2025, the company replaced Sanger with Weltraumreiseflugschiff, which
evolved into a family of launch vehicles with payload capabilities to 80,000 lbs. The company’s major
customer for Weltraumreiseflugschiff is European Space Lines, which provides passenger services to
orbiting hotels catering to guests from Europe, India, Japan, China, Africa, and developing countries.
Vereinigten Flugfahrten has a tradition of success through self-sufficiency, so it makes many products
that most spacecraft manufacturers would acquire through subcontracts. An example was the
company’s own development of computers and cockpit displays for its launch vehicles. An internal
“Synergy Department” adapted some of the vehicle technology to develop new computer systems for
offices, whereupon the Marketing Department recognised a commercial opportunity: a Vereinigten
Flugfahrten subsidiary surprised the global computer industry by introducing computers built into
office desks, with a screen occupying the entire desktop. Touch-screen control of files enables
handling computer files like papers on a desk, with many documents visible and “shuffleable”
simultaneously. This design became an “instant” success in the retail market.
Vereinigten Flugfahrten designed and built European modules for Space Station Freedom and lunar
bases, and later built the “Independence” spaceport through which most cargo from Earth is
transferred for use in space. The company used these contracts as opportunities to develop
expertise in producing a variety of products in microgravity, and in extracting useful materials from
lunar ores and asteroids. In order to assure complete privacy in its development of other spacemaufactured products, Vereinigten Flugfahrten established its own orbital refining and research
facilities, supplied by its own lunar mines, and serviced by its own fleet of on-orbit transfer and lunar
landing vehicles to move goods to orbital construction sites.
It build a space settlement for
employees managing these operations, and parlayed that experience into a business of building
medium-size settlements (typically 2,500 to 6,000 residents) for independent customers. Following a
tradition of ”better late and better”, the company observed the experiences of other companies before
planning these operations. The company developed the first space “recycling” plant; it collects orbital
debris (mostly satellites that have outlived their useful life) and harvests materials and components
from which it makes new products. The company has reserved permanent accommodations for 50
employees and secured research and processing facilities in the Benevectoras space settlement, and
operates its own material harvesting operations on Mars.
European spacecraft ventures are primarily government-sponsored endeavours. This limits the
company’s access to resources for improving its technology for large-scale space projects, due to
government priorities elsewhere. Vereinigten Flugfahrten therefore sees the Cassandras contract as
an opportunity for developing a new customer base and business area.
ROCKDONNELL
Providers of:
- Asteroid retrieval, mining, space refining and manufacturing
- Lunar landing craft and small Mars landing vehicles
- Hotels in orbit; retirement communities in space
- Alexandriat construction integration, Alaskol space settlement
Rockdonnell was formed as a joint venture between two major firms to operate Space Station
Freedom for SEAC. The Foundation Society later enlisted Rockdonnell’s experts for integration of
Alexandriat construction, which entailed assigning and keeping track of diverse detailed design
efforts. Corporate Headquarters was moved in 2034 to an orbital location dubbed “Rock-in-the-Sky”,
in order to be closer to where the company does business in space.
One parent company is an aerospace firm with several divisions. The Spacets Division built a small
fleet of lunar landing vehicles during Alexandriat construction, then developed Bellevistat’s zero-g
refineries, small Mars landing vehicles, and the first mining operation on a carbonaceous asteroid,
accessible with Orbital Transfer Vehicles. The Rockonetics Division is a major producer of rocket
engines; it produced the first air-breathing engine to achieve Mach 25 in the upper atmosphere,
ultimately resulting in Vulture Aviation’s Condor launch vehicle. The Compsec Division produces fast,
rugged, and transportable “micro-abacus” computers. Production costs were reduced by use of
nanobots for electronic components assembly. These machines are built up of small modules that
can be separated or combined to provide capabilities ranging from laptops to supercomputers.
The other parent company is a diversified firm with interest in infrastructure, real estate, hotels, and
research. When nanobots emerged, the company resolved their limitation by programming them to
work together. Self-propelled programmable “rollerbots” were developed, providing a 21st-century
update to ancient techniques of moving large and heavy objects; a film of them acts as a moving
lubricant. “Sticky rollerbots” were developed for moving construction elements in space.
The two parent companies have embarked on other joint project through Rockdonnell. The most wellknown of these is Icarus Inn, a resort hotel in Earth orbit. Suites cater to guests’ preferences to stay in
zero-g, one-g, or intermediate acceleration environments. The venture inspired development of the
more opulent Daedalus Resort, and the family-orientated Helios Habitat. Since then, the company
has opened a new on-orbit resort every five years. Observation of long-term elderly guests who
favored low-g suites led to research that showed slowing of the ageing process in low-g
environments. This resulted in Sun-Up City, a retirement community that offers low-g residences and
a slightly oxygen-enriched atmosphere to promote longevity and health.
Rockdonnell identified promising space manufacturing opportunities, as a result of ISS experiments
owned by the aerospace parent company. Its research with silicon buckystructures produced a
structural net that maintains stability of rotating space structures and connection to a central hub
without the need for spokes, enabling more reliable design and less expensive construction
techniques. Space manufacturing capability was offered to other corporations on the condition that
Rockdonnell design and build on-orbit space factories for commercial production of these products,
and that 2% of profits from these operations be paid as a royalty to Rockdonnell. These space
facilities manufacture pharmaceuticals, electronic components, genetically engineered organisms,
and other high-value, low-weight-and-volume products.
After winning the Alaskol contract, Rockdonnell expanded “Rock-in-the-Sky” from a village of 800
residents, to a small metropolis of 5,000 people. Another “company town” of similar size was
developed in a 100,000 mile Earth orbit, where Rockdonnell collects materials and does customized
pre-fabricated manufacturing of components for its resorts and space manufacturing facilities. This
community also serves as a base for servicing, supplying, and retrieving manufacture products from
its diverse and far-flung fleet of manufacturing operations. Rockdonnell sees the Cassandras contract
as a logical extension of its successful work with the Foundation Society.
GRUMBO AEROSPACE
Providers of:
- Multi-purpose “F1M8” robots
- Launch vehicles, space tugs, and lunar surface vehicles
- Transportation services and robots for infrastructure projects
- Bellevistat and Balderol space settlements
Grumbo Aerospace is one of four major business groups of Grumbo International. The other three
business areas are ground transportation products, electronics systems, and general industries.
Products of the General Industries business areas include F1M8 Robots, which are available for a
variety of uses and share proprietary “artificial intelligence” capability enabling them to recognize
human speech and “learn” through experience. When Grumbo joined SEAC, it developed F1M8s
with capabilities needed for space infrastructure development. The company’s robots were sent to
the Moon to build habitats at mining sites before humans arrived; they didn’t last long in the highly
abrasive dust, but replacements were sent frequently to keep production going.
Grumbo’s F1M8s and nanobots have networking capabilities, enabling diverse robotic systems to
work together. One application is repair of micrometeorite damage to spacecraft—F1M8s identify
damage and deliver materials and nanobots to the site; the nanobots basically “heal the hole”
molecule-by-molecule from the edges to the inside. Similarly, nanobots help F1M8s in excavation
operations; when solid rock is encountered, the nanobots dismantle it at the molecular level.
The most successful products of the Electronics Systems Group are data storage systems that
replaced traditional computer disks, data sticks, and hard drives. These devices fit in a wallet,
generate no heat, can be embedded in ID badges, enable financial exchanges between individuals,
tolerate severe environments and other abuse, do not destroy data if they fail, and can connect in
groups to grow storage capacity almost indefinitely.
They enabled the evolution of personal
computers to the ubiquitous “dumb screens” into which users plug in their own “smart guts”.
The Ground Transportation Group builds several vehicles customized for operation in space, with
technical assistance from the Aerospace division. Grumbo vehicles are used for transportation near
lunar and Mars bases. Vehicles customized for long-term operations on the lunar surface are used
for prospecting missions based from Alaskol. F1M8 “intelligence” in vehicle control systems enables
reductions in costs and schedules through autonomous operations capability.
Grumbo did some of the earliest work on a space tug concept to move satellites and cargo between
orbital locations. It intended to build the first unit for use at Space Station Freedom, and instead went
into full production to meet the needs of inter-orbit transportation for SEAC infrastructure development
and Alexandriat construction. The company quickly developed “supertug” versions suitable for
moving materials to lunar orbit, with capabilities to deliver mass anywhere in cis-lunar space. Grumbo
was also the first company to build a cis-lunar inter-orbit vehicle capable of carrying personnel to L5,
L4, L1, and L2. Recent Grumbo research pioneered use of silicon buckystructure fabric to create
additional habitable volumes on spacecraft and lunar facilities.
The company’s most well-known product is the Reusable Launch Vehicle. The original RLV carried
25,000 lbs of payload to the existing spaceports, and 43,000 lbs to 160-mile LEO. This 200-foot-long
vehicle also pioneered development of the 30 foot long by 15 foot nearly square cross-section space
cargo containers now standard for all medium-size launch vehicles. The “Grumbo Jumbo” is a heavylift reusable Single Stage to Orbit design that captured a large share of the commercial cargo market.
Grumbo now sells several versions of both vehicles, with RLV capability up to 55,000 lb., and Grumbo
Jumbo capability to 175,000 lb. at $600 per pound to orbit.
Grumbo regards space settlement construction as a corporate goal; company officials believe their
work with existing settlements puts them in a good position to win the Cassandras contract.
VULTURE AVIATION
Providers of:
- Condor launch vehicles and on-orbit transfer vehicles
- Small-Scale space settlements
- Mars-Earth “cycler” spacecraft, Mars-orbiting satellite services
- Aresam space settlement
Vulture Aviation is the world’s largest aircraft manufacturer, having built 70% of the commercial jet,
propfan, and supersonic aircraft currently flying. Executives were concerned in the 1990s that their
bottom line was dominated by aircraft. Vulture became a major player in space—and a SEAC
member—by purchasing Consolidated Dynamics, a respected but poorly managed manufacturer of
satellites and orbital transfer vehicles. Profitability came with the small but versatile “Gull” spacecraft,
with enough range to venture between L4 and L5. Vulture Aviation is now a major supplier of smallscale space settlements not associated with the Foundation Society.
In the space business, Vulture Aviation is most well known for its single-stage-to-orbit launch vehicle,
the Condor. When Rockonetics perfected its Mach 25 engine, Vulture developed a vehicle for it. The
timing of Condor’s introduction was excellent; SEAC infrastructure development relied on Condor for
early transportation needs; the company flew them as fast as it could build them. The vehicles
feature aircraft-like maintenance, and fly payloads in standard 30 foot long containers with nearlysquare 15-foot cross-sections. The company offers a family of Condor vehicles, with up to 40,000 lbs.
payload capability to LEO, and launch costs as low as $700 per pound. Vulture protect innovations of
Condor production by refusing to sell any unit, operating the fleet through the company’s
SpaceFreight Division, with scheduled service to the three spaceports. Transfer service is offered on
wingless Condors to major Earth-orbit facilities, including the Foundation Society’s Alexandriat,
Bellevistat, and Arial. Service to smaller facilities is arranged on a charter basis.
Vulture Aviation also built a constellation of small satellites enabling communication between all three
Mars bases and to Earth. Vulture Aviation built the Benevectoras “cycler” settlement, in an elliptical
solar orbit crossing the orbits of Earth and Mars. Transfer ships based at Aresam rendezvous with the
cycler to load and offload cargo and personnel; $1,500 per pound delivers cargo from Bellevistat to
Mars orbit. Landing vehicles charge $50 per pound for transportation to the Martian surface, and
$300 per pound for the return trip. In order to aid exploration on Mars, Vulture developed Mars
Areological Surface Utility Vehicles (MARSUV) for surface travel. Each MARSUV houses a crew of
eight engineers and scientists on missions of up to six months with no resupply or support.
Despite success of the Condor launch vehicle and winning the Foundation Society’s Aresam contract,
Vulture Aviation still considers itself an “outsider” in the space business. Indeed, its executives call
Condor an “airplane”, and they operate their fleet as an airline rather than a finicky collection of exotic
vehicles. The company’s research into silicon buckystructures also took a direction unlike other
aerospace companies; it is using the material to create space-manufactured substitutes for more
common products: e.g., gaskets, tires, hoses, even fabrics, and paper. Although five to ten times
more expensive than similar products on Earth, they are practical for space applications. One quirk:
the fabric does not take dye, so comes only in white.
Vulture Aviation also adapted aircraft industry “assembly line” high volume production techniques for
on-orbit and lunar construction, demonstrating that even though a schedule may call for only one
structure, that structure can be assembled from thousands of identical parts that are amendable to
mass production techniques.
Winning the Foundation Society’s Cassandras contract is seen by the company as a logical extension
of its work on the Aresam space settlement for the Foundation Society.
FLETCHTEL CONSTRUCTORS
Providers of:
- Design and construction of entire cities on Earth
- Lunar habitat and mining operations development
- Extraterrestrial materials refining and prospecting
- Columbiat space settlement (with Dougledyne)
The company has been in business since the 1920’s, when it designed and built facilities for energy
and chemical companies. Until the late 1960’s Fletchtel products were primarily oil refineries and
factories producing industrial chemicals, fertilizer, and household cleaning products. The company
has skills, however, for designing nearly any industrial, commercial, or government facility, and has
been involved with concepts for power plants, ground transportation infrastructure, farming, logging,
amusement parks, harbours, and airports. A constituent company philosophy is that every customer
is important, and no project is too big, too small, or too strange.
Low-cost and high-quality construction techniques were applied after the year 2005 to bring about
rapid development in poor countries. The company assisted in generating capital for major building
projects, exploiting each nation’s workforce skills and natural resources. This program was of such
great benefit to developing nations that Fletchtel was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize in 2019.
The company gained humanitarian recognition in the 2030’s, when it demonstrated feasibility of huge
ocean farming system to grow fish and aquatic vegetables. Now dozens of these installations operate
in remote deep-water areas of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, far from land and pollution. These
farms assure virtually inexhaustible food supplies for Earth’s peoples.
Fletchtel has been associated with the aerospace industry since the late 1980’s, when it researched
requirements for construction of human habitats on the lunar surface. The work defined standards for
light filtering and radiation shielding for different types of human activity on the Moon. A recent
extension of this work is a silicon buckystructure white film that when placed on windows or helmet
visors is transparent from the inside, and filters direct sunlight in daytime but provides visibility at
night. The company used its lunar design experience to develop mining processes and equipment for
SEAC. Its innovative designs for this project included mining equipment that was assembled in place
on the lunar surface, using some components made from local materials. Despite its success with
lunar mining, the company recognises that metallic asteroids contain more lucrative re-positionable
resources, and developed micro-g refining systems that are delivered to appropriate near-Earth
asteroids by an Orbital Transfer Vehicle. The systems employ nanobots to separate out minerals into
nearly pure forms, which are delivered to Bellevistat for use in manufacturing or shipment to Earth.
Fletchtel also designed the interior spaces and passenger transfer areas for the Liberty spaceport,
applying its experience with city design, and advised Dougledyne and the Foundation Society on
interior design of Alexandriat. Despite a limited selection of available materials and short construction
schedules to build both projects, Fletchtel created pleasant environments with ample recreational
opportunities. Indeed, these attributes are credited for the interest in Alexandrait as a vacation
destination for healthy dirtsiders.
Fletchtel teamed with Dougledyne AstroSystems to help with concept development of SPS.
Engineers from the two companies worked together to develop an efficient microwave power
transmission system, and Fletchtel builds rectennas to collect the microwave energy and deliver it to
the power grid; rectennas typically are one unit wide for every 2,500 units of distance from the
transmitter. Fletchtel continues to build 50% of new ground-based rectennas, and 30% of space
based transmitting antennas. Dougledyne’s experience with orbital systems provides a strong
complement for Fletchtel’s experience with community development; this synergy was put to good
use in winning the Columbiat space settlement contract, and is expected to put the team in a good
position to win the Cassandras construction contract.
DOUGLEDYNE ASTROSYSTEMS
Providers of:
- Unmanned space systems, especially communication satellites
- Solar Power Satellites (SPS)
- On-orbit assembly of large space systems
- Columbiat space settlement (with Fletchtel)
Dougledyne AstroSystems is the world’s most prolific manufacturer of unmanned satellites. With
humble beginnings making aircraft parts, the company entered the spacecraft business in the 1960’s
with a reputation for quality manufacturing of specialised products, and a few key employees.
Dougledyne is involved in the whole gamut of unmanned satellite systems, from complex scientific
satellites for NASA, to simple “micro-sats”. The company pioneered constellations of small satellites
in low orbits for communications and navigation services. Its systems enable use of handheld
satellite telephones, global wireless Internet services, and tracking of conventional shipping
containers at any location on the Earth’s surface; it also provided communications services for ISS.
A spinoff from the company’s satellite business was a research program in solar panel technology. In
leased facilities on the ISS, it perfected techniques for low-g manufacturing of solar panels. The
company planned to develop a 100-megawatt prototype SPS to demonstrate the concept in the late
20-teens, but instead built the system at the Earth-Moon L1 point to provide power for SEAC lunar
mining operations. The system performed above expectations; the company now builds ten-gigawatt
installations to provide power for communities on Earth. Dougledyne produces space-quality solar
panels for $50 per kilowatt in its lunar-orbiting manufacturing facility. Silicon buckystructures enable
development of more efficient solar cells with less weight and improved opportunities for space
manufacturing. The company’s experiments with Martian materials show promise for solar panel
production on Mars.
The company applied its research of large space structures to develop high “antenna farms” in GEO
to handle growing communications traffic through the limited number of “slots” where communications
satellites can be placed without signal interference. It added to SEAC infrastructure by deploying a
constellation of small satellites in lunar orbit to provide navigation services for prospecting operations.
Dougledyne first collaborated with Fletchtel Constructors to design and build the spaceport “Liberty”
for SEAC infrastructure development, leveraging its extensive space experience with Fletchtel’s
expertise in designing human systems and communities. Most passengers transition though Liberty
between Earth and space destinations.
Dougledyne’s knowledge of on-orbit assembly techniques caused the Foundation Society to select
the company to develop assembly processes for the model habitat that became Alexandriat. The
company defined the original configuration, standardization of connections to add modules,
determining when the structure was large enough to begin rotation, how to add modules of varying
sizes and purposes, and when original connections or modules require strengthening or replacement.
Dougeldyne also supplied communications antennas and solar arrays for Alexandriat.
Following development of nanobots at Alexandriat, Dougledyne adapted them for their first large-scale
commercial use. Nanobots were programmed to individually place molecules of solar cell materials
on SPS array surfaces, enabling faster and more accurate assembly. The company has since
developed nanobots that efficiently place coatings on surfaces for a variety of applications, including
filtering on windows for spacecraft. Nanobots make porous building materials (e.g., superadobe)
airtight by fusing molecules into a glaze-like surface. Nanobots can pulverize metals into fine
powders, which are later formed and heated by conventional means into moulded parts.
Dougledyne won the Columbiat contract improving its diversification beyond unmanned satellites.
The company teamed with Fletchtel Constructors to make up for its lack of expertise with human
factors, and expects this partnership to be a strong competitor for the Cassandras contract.
Appendix A: SUBCONTRACTORS
Major companies have access to a vast network of smaller companies making specialized
products. They are eager to make or do anything they are capable of making or doing, for
anyone who will pay. They frequently have contracts with competitors for the same
proposal. These include:
BeamBuilders, Ltd. is a European company which operates an automated manufacturing
facility on a ferro-nickel asteroid in an Earth-crossing orbit.
The company produces
triangular trusses to customer-specified dimensions, at the rate of 500 linear feet per hour.
Customers are required to provide they own transportation of these structures, although
some limited assembly is permitted in the vicinity of this operation; orbital mechanics
restricts practical delivery opportunities to twice per year. The company’s standard triangular
truss with 12-foot sections, suitable of zero-g installations, typically sells for $1,500 per linear
foot. Custom orders are more expensive.
Extreme Survival Technologies (EST) builds spacesuits, pressurized fabric impact
protection systems (e.g., airbags and restraints), and portable emergency shelters at its
Bellevistat and Alaskol manufacturing facilities. Its most popular products are hard-shell
spacesuits customized for lunar operations but frequently used for other applications; brisk
and continuing demand enables efficiencies of assembly line production and $250,000 unit
costs. Unpressurized flexible fabric suits sell for $500,000 each; they must be customized
for each individual wearer, and have been found appropriate only for in-space operations
due to abrasion issues in planetary and asteroid surface environments
Fusion Founders serendipitously happened upon an apparently ideal combination of
conditions and equipment to produce practical fusion power. Its most popular product is a
self-contained unit that can be shipped on a modified commercial version of a C-19 transport
aircraft. The unit, weighing 200,000 pounds, includes a 17-foot diameter sphere, its 80-footlong cooling “barn”, and a support “shed”. The system is shipped pre-assembled, and
generates 10 MW, appropriate for non-industrial communities of about 5,000 people. Fusion
Founders has received several solicitations to develop a version of this unit that could be
launched into space, but feels that it has achieved the theoretical limit of smallness for a
fusion reactor, and cooling is not practical in space.
Garden-A-Go-Go manufactures portable hydroponic eco-systems at Alexandriat for
sustaining long-duration spaceship crews. The modules attach to the exterior of a ship, over
an airlock that would normally go to vacuum; new inter-orbit spaceships are designed with
appropriate interfaces. Sizes are available for crews of five ($3 million), eight ($4 million), or
twelve ($5 million), and special orders are cheerfully filled. Use of a Garden-A-Go-Go
system requires that two crew members be trained to work the farm for one hour per day on
average, mostly to harvest food for each day’s meals, cull dead matter, and check for pests
and disease. Customers select either rabbit-based or chicken-based systems, which deliver
grains, vegetables, fruit, and meat (or meat and eggs). The systems do require bi-annual
maintenance to replenish water and nutrients, introduce non-inbred animals, and replace
plant species that have died off. Specialized installations for more than 1,000 people can be
ordered for $75,000 per person.
Litigation Limiters is a law firm that created a niche market which virtually eliminates
conflict-of-interest suits for its clients, who usually are companies competing for the same
contracts but in need of each others’ products and/or services. Litigation Limiters arranges
its own contracts between providers of products and services, and customers, then serves
as a go-between to supply the products and services to the customers. The company has
such agreements with all of the world’s diversified corporations that have significant product
lines applicable to space development. Litigation Limiters charges a 2% fee on product or
service value.
Lossless Airlocks is a Bellevistat manufacturer selling airlocks that operate with almost no
loss of atmosphere for each opening to space. Airlocks come in several sizes, including a
single-person unit, and a personnel transfer system that can simultaneously accommodate
ten people in adjacent chambers; the largest is an equipment transfer chamber designed for
standard space cargo containers (15 feet square by 30 feet long). The system is somewhat
disconcerting for people to use; when outgoing, a coated kevlar tube envelops the occupant,
who is then ejected rather forcefully when the outer doors are opened. It has, however,
enabled retention of precious air in all sizes of vehicles.
In response to serious
contamination problems of machinery in lunar and Mars bases, the company has attempted
to develop an airlock that cleans astronauts’ suits as they enter controlled environments;
both lunar dust and Martian fines, however, resist all attempts to control them.
Nano Solutions was established at Alexandriat to commercialize production and marketing
of nanobots after techniques were developed to grow them in zero-g and vacuum.
Programmed nanobots sell by the ounce at roughly ten times the cost of platinum; when
delivered they resemble a fine powder the customer applies as a thin layer to the working
surface. Service life is one to five Earth years, depending on operating environment and
application. The company reprograms nanobots for new tasks (compatible with their original
application) for a modest fee.
Tanks-A-Million is a Bellevistat-based manufacturer that uses lunar materials to build tanks
for all applications on spacecraft. The company has facilities that can make nearly perfectly
round tank cross-sections to any size between one foot diameter spheres and 18 foot
diameter by 50 foot long cylinders. Tanks can be specified for high pressure, cryogenic, or
fuel applications, and feature an extraordinarily reliable system for keeping contents at the
exit points in zero-g. The company claims that its zero-g manufacturing techniques reduce
flaws and “corners” that can serve as starting points for stress fractures in pressurized tanks.
Totally Remote Ultimate Escapeways / Guest Requested Innerpeace Treks (TRUE/
GRIT) offers the ultimate get-away-from-it-all vacation. Guests enjoy luxuriously-appointed
small spacecraft which can accommodate up to four people for two weeks. The company
delivers each spacecraft and its guest(s) to an orbit with no hazards from known debris,
where it remains either until its occupants request retrieval or supplies are nearly depleted.
Privacy is guaranteed, although critical vehicle systems, oxygen depletion, and temperature
are monitored to assure that occupants are not in difficulty. Guests may change vehicle
attitude for different views, but have no ability to change orbits. Rates are $9,000 per person
per day, or $30,000 per day for charter of a spacecraft. Extravehicular Activity (EVA)
experiences are offered for $2,000 extra per person per trip. These zero-g escapes are
highly favored by designers, authors, and artists who seek creative inspiration.
Tubular Technologies, based at Alexandriat, is the most prolific producer of carbon
nanotubes for industrial and scientific uses, for both space and dirtside customers. The
company has succeeded in making nanotube cross-linked strings up to 100 yards long,
although most applications are in the one- to ten-foot range. Nanotubes add strength to
conventional materials; primary customers are manufacturers of construction elements (e.g.,
for buildings and bridges) and components for machinery, vehicles, and tools. Although the
company is vigorously pursuing techniques to produce longer nanotubes, it is far from
achieving the 10-mile lengths required to build a cable that would withstand loads of a Space
Elevator to Earth’s surface.
ZAP! Industries is the leading supplier of wire harnesses and fire optics systems for
distribution of electrical power and electronic signals on spacecraft. The company operates
a system for zero-g manufacturing of solar cells from materials available in silicate asteroids.
ZAP! sells each of these units for $40 million, not including transportation to deposit it on an
appropriate asteroid, where it produces 1 x 2 foot solar panels at the rate of 10,000 per day,
each of which is capable of generating 38 watts of power in Earth orbit and weighs 2
pounds, at a cost of $80 per kW (not including transportation to the user site). The company
adapted its processes for manufacturing with lunar materials, and has achieved similar costs
at a manufacturing base near Alaskol.
Appendix B: Space Settlement Design Competition
GLOSSARY
Many of the words and terms used in Competition materials are not part of familiar everyday
usage
air-breathing engine: propulsion plant (motor) that acquires oxidizer from the atmosphere,
rather than carrying it in tanks on the vehicle (as required by rocket engines)
airlock: chamber enabling people and things to move or be moved between volumes with
different pressure; like a lock in a canal, the chamber starts at the pressure that the
occupant is moving from, and changes to the pressure being moved to
attitude (of a vehicle): vehicle’s orientation relative to Earth, Sun, or other objects; typically
used to describe a desired view, observation target, or heating environment (e.g., a “sunfacing” attitude assures that one side of the vehicle will always be hot, and the other side
always cool)
avionics: litteraly, “aviation electronics”, mostly including commanding and monitoring of
systems on aircraft and spacecraft
cargo: reason a vehicle flies; stuff carried by a vehicle from its starting point (ground or onorbit) to the vehicle’s destination; can include satellites, bulk materials, construction
components, or people
cargo container: standard unit in which cargo is installed; container interiors are configured
for complex installations, and standard exterior container interfaces are quickly mated to the
inside of a cargo vehicle (standard containers are used on ships, conventional aircraft,
railroad cars, and trucks)
consumables: stuff that is used up during the course of a mission or over a period of time,
and hence must be replaced; includes everything from rocket fuel to pet food to pencils
contract: legal agreement whereby a company (contractor) promises to build something or
provide a service to customer with a defined cost and schedule, and the customer agrees to
pay the entire cost when the product is delivers, or partial payments over the course of a
long delivery schedule
dirtside: of or referring to Earth, people living there, and things on it
down area: in a rotating space structure, the interior surfaces though which the force due to
the rotation (“Artificial gravity”) appears to be vertical; conversely, surfaces inside a rotating
space structure on which a person could stand or things could be placed, as if they were on
the ground
downweight: amount of payload weight carried by a vehicle from orbit to the ground
Expendable Launch Vehicle (ELV): vehicle launched only once; typically, it sheds
components (stages) during ascent, with only a small portion of the original “stack” delivered
to orbit
Extravehicular Activity (EVA): excursion by spacesuited person outside of a vehicle or
habitat
fabrication: manufacturing; the process of making, building, and/or assembling
fiber optics: use of glass strands to transmit light representing electronic signals; can
replace copper wire with less weight and expense, and greater reliability, but cannot transmit
power
fines: tiny particles of lunar, Martian, or other extraterrestrial soils; typically called “dust”
GEO: geosynchronous Earth orbit; objects in 22,300 mile orbits rotate around the Earth at
the same rate that the Earth turns on its axis; when located above the Equator, these objects
appear to be stationary in Earth’s sky
hypersonic flight: flight through an atmosphere at greater than five times the speed of
sound (Mach 5) for that atmosphere
launch vehicle: spacecraft capable of launching or flying through an atmosphere (e.g.,
Earth’s) in order to get into space and achieve orbit
LEO: low Earth orbit; orbital locations above Earth’s atmosphere and below the Van Allen
radiation belts
libration points, or L1, L2, L3, L4, L5: in orbital mechanics, when one large body (e.g., the
Moon) is in orbit around another large body (e.g., Earth) there are five points in orbits around
the larger body where gravitational forces balance out to enable satellites to be placed
where they would not stay if the smaller of the large bodies were not present (also called
Lagrangian points, for Joseph Lagrange, the mathematician who developed the theory that
predicts their existence)
low-g: acceleration environment with less than the acceleration due to gravity on Earth’s
surface
mass driver: device that electromagnetically accelerates small objects to very high
velocities; can be utilized for efficiently launching material from airless surfaces
micro-g: accurate description of “weightlessness”, the condition experienced in space when
forces balance out and objects seem to “float”; true “zero-g” is theoretically not possible,
because there are always tiny forces operating on all objects
on-orbit: in space, in an orbit; usually refers to an orbit around Earth
orbit: path assumed by an object in space, due to balancing or “cancelling out” of
accelerations due to gravity and rotation; usually the elliptical path of a small body (e.g.,
satellite) around a very large body (e.g., planet, moon, or star)
outweight: amount of payload weight carried by a vehicle from Earth’s vicinity outbound to
another location in the solar system
overhead: the part of a budget not considered cost of work directly on a project, but charged
to the customer as part of the hourly cost for direct work (i.e., a contractor is paid for each
hour an engineer works on tasks directly related to the project; the customer is billed a cost
for the engineer’s hours that is greater than the salary paid to the engineer; the difference
pays for computers, facility upkeep, janitors, utilities and other costs needed to support the
engineer’s work)
payload: literally, “paying load”; cargo carried by a vehicle, for which a fee is paid in
exchange for moving the cargo to its destination
payload capability: weight of payload(s) that a launch vehicle is capable of carrying to orbit
payload integration: process of safely stowing a payload (usually a satellite or complex
device) on a launch vehicle and providing services (including electrical power, avionics, and
thermal control) that enable the payload to survive the flight and accomplish its purpose;
includes design of services, analysis of payload’s ability to survive environments it will
experience, and installation in the vehicle
profit: difference between the price charged by a contractor for providing a product, and the
actual cost the contractor incurs to create the product
proposal: document prepared by a company or other entity, to convince a customer to
select the entity to provide a certain product; it describes the company’s plan for providing
the product, and explains why the customer can be confident that the company has a
superior design and will produce it according to the customer’s requirements and within the
described cost and schedule
rectenna: receiving antenna, converts directed microwave energy (e.g., from an SPS) to
electric power
Request for Proposal (RFP): document prepared by a customer, which describes features
of a product they want a contractor to produce
requirements: features a customer requests to be included in the design of a desired
product
returnweight: amount of payload weight carried by a vehicle to Earth’s vicinity inbound from
another location in the solar system
Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV): launch vehicle that returns from its missions intact, and is
designed to be maintained after flight and fly repeated missions
satellite: any object in orbit around another object; usually refers to human-made devices in
orbit around large natural bodies (i.e., planets, moons, starts)
shirtsleeve: environment in a vehicle or habitat enabling humans to operate without
protective gear
Single Stage to Orbit (SSTO): launch vehicle that ascends from ground to orbit without
staging, or shedding of components during ascent; such vehicles contain all fuels and
oxidizer they require in tanks inside their structures, and return to the ground with tanks
intact (the amount of oxidizer onboard can be reduced through use of air-breathing engines
during flight in the atmosphere)
solar panel: device that converts sunlight into electrical power
Solar Power Satellite: a satellite, usually very large, consisting mostly of large arrays of
solar panels producing electrical power that can be converted (usually to microwave energy)
and transmitted to users in other locations
solar sail: a surface, usually very large and lightweight, that makes use of pressure due to
light or solar wind for propulsion
spacer: of or referring to people who live in space
spacesuit: garment providing pressure, breathing air, fluids and nutrients, waste removal,
and protection from the space environment, enabling a human to move and operate on EVA
SPS: see “Solar Power Satellite”
SSTO: see “Single Stage to Orbit”
station-keeping: use of small rockets, solar sails, or other propulsion to prevent satellites
from drifting out of their desired orbital locations
terraforming: process of making a planet more Earth-like, i.e., habitable by humans
upweight: amount of payload weight carried by a launch vehicle to orbit
Van Allen radiation belts: bands of radiation trapped in Earth’s magnetic field, which both
absorb ambient deep-space radiation and provide protection for Earth’s surface, and are a
hazard for satellites and humans operating within them
zero-g: see “micro-g”
TIMETABLE
Saturday 19 March
Time
Activity
08:30
Arrive at Imperial College London Exhibition Road entrance
Registration
Meet CEOs
09:00
Welcome to the competition!
LT1
09:15
The Space Quiz Show
LT1
09:45
You’re in the future now! - what will happen this weekend
LT1
10:15
How companies work
LT1
10:25
You're a professional now!
LT1
10:35
Groups move from lecture theatre to Department of Earth Science &
Engineering
Students move to company headquarters
Accompanying adults retire to Teachers’ Lounge
2.28
10:45
Room
Organisation assignments in companies (Students):
Dougledyne Fletchtel
Grumbo Aerospace
Rockdonnell
Vereinigten Flugfahrten
Vulture Aviation
Technical training sessions (Accompanying Adults welcome):
Structural Engineering
Operations Engineering
Human Engineering
Automation Engineering
Management
12:30
Companies occupy headquarters to begin designs (Students)
Retire to Teachers’ Lounge (Accompanying Adults)
As above
2.28
12:30 13:30
Lunch - Groups will be called to lunch on a rota system. Please remain in
your company headquarters until you are called.
G.35
18:00 19:00
Dinner - Groups will be called to dinner on a rota system. Please remain in
your company headquarters until you are called.
G.35
22:00
Students proceed to overnight accommodation with accompanying adults.
11:15
G.41
G.05
G.39
G.06
G.38
G.38
G.39
G.05
G.41
G.32
Sunday 20 March
Time
Activity
Room
08:00
Company representatives submit finished design proposals to the
Foundation Society on USB at the main entrance to the Royal School of
Mines on Prince Consort Road
08:45
Assemble for design presentations
09:00
First design presentation 33 SAF
All teams and accompanying adults present in audience. All teams must be
present at all presentations throughout the day.
09:45
Second design presentation
33 SAF
10:30
Third design presentation
33 SAF
11:15
Comfort break
11:25
Fourth design presentation
33 SAF
12:10
Fifth design presentation
33 SAF
12:50
Groups move from lecture theatre to Department of Earth Science &
Engineering
13:00 14:00
Lunch for participating students and accompanying teachers. Groups will
be called to lunch on a rota system. Please remain in your company
headquarters until you are called.
Parents are kindly asked to bring their own food and beverages.
G.35
14:00
Groups move from Department of Earth Science & Engineering to lecture
theatre
33 SAF
14:30
Judges' debriefing and announcement of winning design
15:45
Winning company moves back to their company headquarters
16:00
Adjourn and participants depart
33 SAF*
G.20
As per
Saturday
* All presentations on Sunday will take place in the main lecture hall in the Sir Alexander
Fleming Building. You will need to enter the lecture hall from the mezzanine level of the
building.
SPACE SCIENCE & ENGINEERING FOUNDATION
The UK Space Design Competition is organised and funded by the Space Science & Engineering Foundation (registered charity
number 1142329) with generous support from other sponsors.
Honorary President
David Dangoor
SSEF Trustees
Dr Randall S. Perry (Chair), Dr Liz Luthman, Dr Jian He, Alison Ahearn, Richard Ghail, Helen
Oliver and Christian Sweeting
Administrative Director
Jen Greenwood
UK Finals 2015-16 Organising Chair
Evan Meyrick
UK Finals 2015-16 Vice-Chair and 2016-17 Organising Chair
Jian Heseri
UKSDC Committee
Alison Ahearn, Adam Braithwaite, Nich Fletcher, Jian Heseri, Louis Lyle, Evan Meyrick, Helen
Oliver, Randall Perry and Trisha Saxena
The Foundation would like to thank the hosts of the UK Space Design Competition 2015-16:
Cardiff Sixth Form College
City of London Academy, Southwark
Derby Grammar School
Imperial College London
University of Huddersfield
University of Oxford
Westminster Academy
A huge thank you too to all our fantastic volunteers, who donate their time and energy to the UKSDC.
Kindly supported by
Dangoor
Education
www.UKSDC.org
/UKSDComp
@UKSDComp